The gasps of Ling Mei and Gan Fu drew everyone's attention, who had already been focused on Shi Yan, though their attention had previously been more concentrated on his connection with the Profound Glyph Pagoda and the Primordial Source Glyphs.

Hearing the cries, everyone involuntarily turned their gaze toward the summit of Shi Yan’s sea of consciousness, fixing on the Profound Glyph layer.

And so they saw that pitch-black cavern!

At that moment, the black cavern spun like a deep, dark vortex, exuding an indescribable sense of malevolence.

Understanding dawned on the crowd, and they suddenly snapped back to reality, their expressions turning extremely grim.

They all realized that Ling Mei had guessed correctly!

They grasped that the reason the Primordial Runes had temporarily ceased merging, even showing signs of splitting, was not because Shi Yan was weakened from taking a heavy blow.

It was because the profound mystery Shi Yan was circulating was not Life! The rotation of that deep, black cavern clearly indicated that what Shi Yan was exerting his full power on was none other than the Devouring Profound Mystery!

—That was the most terrifying, evil profound mystery, lost to the Devouring Clan for many years, notorious throughout the Star Sea for its ability to consume all manner of energies, and utterly loathed by the major races!

By the time everyone realized the danger and woke up, as if to confirm Ling Mei’s judgment, Shi Yan’s previously indistinct and wavering Main Soul and Secondary Soul solidified again from blurriness, becoming perfectly clear. The Main Soul and Secondary Soul remained indifferent and composed, as if completely unaffected.

In fact, Ling Mei’s guess was precisely accurate; Shi Yan had not been seriously injured at all!

The instant Telega’s attack arrived, Shi Yan decisively shifted his profound mystery, halting the merging of the Life Profound Mystery and circulating the mystery of Devouring.

His sea of consciousness already integrated Dark Energy; that sea was no mere spiritual sea, but one possessing formidable defensive power, constructed from potent, mysterious Dark Energy!

As he activated the Devouring Profound Mystery, the sea of consciousness formed a massive vortex. When struck by Telega’s power, the monstrous waves surging on that sea, while appearing fearsome, had no actual effect on him. As the sea of consciousness churned, the explosions from the lightning energy slowly diminished, being absorbed instead by the black hole residing above his spiritual sea.

A master of Spatial Profound Mystery, he subtly altered the spatial laws, creating illusions that skillfully concealed everything.

Among those present, only the God Lord Brian and Ming Hao sensed his subtle maneuvering and knew he had sustained no injury.

Because of this, Brian remained motionless, even sporting a cold smirk. After Gan Fu rushed out in a desperate frenzy, he made no move to stop her.

Since Brian did not intervene, Ming Hao was forced to engage with his full strength. As tens of millions of avatars surged, he diverted a portion to intercept Gan Fu, temporarily trapping her.

Shi Yan had not anticipated that Ling Mei of the Profound Heaven Clan, who seemed capable of fostering friendly relations with him, would, at this crucial moment, decisively abandon everything for the sake of the Profound Glyph Pagoda and issue orders to kill him without hesitation.

Ling Mei’s cold composure, and her series of precise, resolute commands, greatly impacted Shi Yan.

Now, for Ling Mei to accurately deduce what he had deliberately concealed—to see that he commanded the Devouring Profound Mystery and was, in fact, unharmed—caused Shi Yan’s soul to tremble, finally instilling a deep sense of unease.

“Buy me a quarter of an hour! Otherwise, you won’t leave this place!” His soul consciousness, like a stream descending from the heavens, poured down toward the God Lord Brian.

Brian had been watching with folded arms as Ming Hao fought two opponents and was beginning to lose ground under the desperate assaults of Batuum and Gan Fu. He had intended to let Ming Hao continue to deplete his strength. Upon hearing Shi Yan’s soul consciousness, he reluctantly grunted and transmitted back: “Your Bloodlust lineage is indeed cunning. Rest assured, I will act when necessary. However, don't dream of me throwing my life away for you. Ming Hao should be the one fighting for you. If he falters, I will naturally step in. For now, enjoy yourself.”

“Devouring Profound Mystery! It is the Devouring Profound Mystery!”

Gan Fu shrieked, trembling all over, as if driven mad. Sitting atop the green pool of blood, her physical body had shrunk threefold to the size of a one-meter dwarf, looking like a desiccated corpse devoid of vital essence, only her eyes blazing with fervor.

“Hiss, hiss, hiss!”

The green blood beneath her emitted thick green mist, which carried an intensely corrosive stench; it felt as if merely inhaling a breath would rot one’s internal organs.

Ming Hao’s numerous soul avatars were quite wary. Once the green mist rose, they temporarily retreated from the area.

“Telega! Attack his Twin Souls! Once the soul is truly grievously wounded, even if he possesses endless means, he will only perish and return to the Void!” Ling Mei quickly regained her composure. In this crucial moment, she instantly refocused, ordering everyone to target Shi Yan’s Main Soul and Secondary Soul.

Telega, Fallowney, and Yebol were not foolish. Hearing her words, they reacted instantly, abandoning the turbulent and bizarre sea of consciousness, preparing to strike at the Twin Souls perched at the very top.

“Go up there!” Audrey commanded decisively.

A grayish-hued Soul Lotus Platform elevated Audrey’s body, rising rapidly.

That Soul Lotus Platform was condensed from tens of thousands of vicious souls and fierce ghosts; the edges of the platform were lined with hideous, terrifying faces, baring fangs and emitting piercing roars.

Ming Hong positioned himself at the front of the platform, like a massive demonic skull crouching beneath Audrey, spitting out a plume of black smoke that blocked a burly Profound Heaven warrior attempting to charge up, keeping him a hundred meters away.

“Profound Guards! Intercept them fully!” Ling Mei stood perfectly still and commanded coldly.

All the Profound Heaven Clan members she had brought turned away from Shi Yan, swinging around to make Audrey their target. Instantly, cold sabers flashed like giant rainbows, and a silver mountain range materialized, crashing down to envelop Audrey.

“Break!”

Audrey cried out, forming intricate seals with both hands, a ball of light igniting in her palms.

Countless vicious souls and fierce ghosts suddenly condensed within the ball of light, pulsing like a pitch-black heart, violently smashing against the cold sabers and the silver mountain range charging in from the Profound Guards.

Almost simultaneously, Meiji, the only one still on the ground, also attacked abruptly.

Her divine body rapidly froze, solidifying into an ice-skinned crystal figure. As her eyes flickered, ice-prism lances, each a hundred meters long, shot out, all piercing towards Ling Mei suspended in mid-air.

A trace of blood trickled from the corner of her mouth, and her face grew paler. This strike clearly exacerbated her injuries. Every time an ice-prism lance shot out from behind her, her perfect physique shuddered violently, as if struck in the chest by a massive hammer, and the blood at her lips became more pronounced.

As more giant lances flew out, her delicate body trembled incessantly, seemingly struggling to remain standing.

Ling Mei suddenly sighed softly. “Why bother? Is he worth fighting so desperately for? I truly cannot comprehend why women of the Shadow Race are always so perplexing, always doing such foolish things.” As she spoke, Ling Mei flicked her jade hand, “Water Moves, Heaven Shifts!”

A tear-like, crystalline drop of water suddenly appeared, instantly swelling upon absorbing moisture to form a clear, transparent lake.

The lake reflected Ling Mei’s captivating face. As ripples spread across the surface, with every ripple, an ice-prism lance shattered into dust.

Meiji clutched her high chest, her face bloodless and pale, falling to one knee, painfully enduring the backlash, feeling her heart gradually turning cold, sensing her vitality gradually draining away...

“Stay put, all of you!” From the firmament, countless eerie shrieks poured in from all directions. Innumerable figures of Ming Hao monstrously swelled, diverting a portion to intercept Telega and the others.

“Rot! All of you, rot!” Gan Fu screamed like a vengeful ghost.

The area of green blood suddenly tore open like a piece of green fabric, shattering into pieces of corrosive acid that splashed onto several whirling avatars of Ming Hao. Those Ming Hao avatars melted rapidly, like ice doused with boiling water.

This strike clearly cost Ming Hao heavily, too. A roar of anger involuntarily erupted from every avatar: “Brian! How much longer will you remain uninvolved?”

“As the leader of Soul Control, defending the Venerable Lord with your life is natural. Why should I die for you?” the God Lord mocked tauntingly, but finally stepped forward, raising his hand to grasp Batuum.

Five beams of immense divine light manifested, containing the mysteries of the Five Elements, like the hands of a celestial being, tearing at the storm domain field surrounding Batuum.

Batuum was extremely wary of the God Lord. Seeing him suddenly attack, although he sensed the light power was not particularly strong and felt somewhat strange, Batuum remained intensely alert, daring not to show the slightest carelessness.

Because the God Lord had previously pushed Gan Fu into a terrible state in their fight, his true strength was clearly terrifyingly immense.

Batuum’s tense defense suddenly eased the pressure on Ming Hao.

“Ling Mei, how dare you!” Suddenly, Meiji, who was still closest to the ground, screamed while spitting blood.

Ling Mei’s expression was cold and composed. Taking advantage of the utmost chaos, she surged directly toward Shi Yan’s true body.

Her persistent inaction below was actually to find the optimal moment to strike and obliterate Shi Yan’s original body!

She had held back for a long time, and seeing Brian make his move, suppressing Meiji into powerlessness, and commanding Telega and the others to attack, even drawing Audrey away from Shi Yan’s true body—she finally found a once-in-a-millennium opportunity. She condensed a surging, massive water blade, intending to slay Shi Yan in a single blow.

Blood streamed from Meiji’s lips as she shrieked; Audrey’s beautiful face was ashen, and bloodstains also appeared on her shoulders. Both seemed utterly terrified by the suddenness of this event, completely petrified.

Only Ming Hao looked neither down nor away, remaining fully engaged with Gan Fu, even willing to let his avatars dissolve at the cost of consuming Gan Fu’s vital blood essence.

At this moment, Shi Yan had completely entrusted everything to others. He had long since resumed circulating the Life Profound Mystery. The sphere of life pulsed with soul-stirring radiance, continuously releasing vast life fluctuations to attract the Life Source Glyph.

The Primordial Source Glyphs, which had stopped merging earlier, had long resumed their fusion, and the speed was accelerating, clearly going to be much faster than the quarter of an hour Shi Yan had mentioned.

Of course, if his true body were instantly annihilated, his soul would immediately suffer a severe wound. Even if he obtained the Primordial Source Glyphs, if his soul altar could not return to its place in a short time, under the frenzied attacks of the crowd, he would end up tragically destroyed.

“Don’t blame me. Blame yourself for possessing too many miracles and being unwilling to join us in the Profound Heaven Clan. Blame the fact that the Profound Glyph Pagoda is too crucial, more important than a future Domain Ancestor. Therefore, I must eliminate you; I cannot allow you the time or space to continue growing...”

Ling Mei inwardly regretted it, but her murderous intent was unwavering as she condensed the terrifying water blade and slashed forward resolutely.

“Little girl, your scheme is vicious enough, but you are still too green. If you had succeeded, wouldn’t those of us who have lived for tens of thousands of years have lived in vain?” Just as Ling Mei’s blade swept toward him, unexpectedly, the God Lord, who should have been fighting Batuum high in the clouds, reappeared with a chilling tone: “My apologies, we tired of playing these tricks and scheming tens of thousands of years ago.”

The God Lord clenched his fist, as if grasping all the light in the vast Star Sea. The fist resembled the condensation of several suns, smashing thunderously toward the water blade.

Ling Mei subconsciously looked up in astonishment, only to find the God Lord was still locked in a struggle with Batuum. Then, in an instant, that God Lord transformed into yet another avatar of Ming Hao.

A chill ran through her heart. She suddenly realized the God Lord had never left, but had been waiting for her meticulously planned strike. The supposed conversation between the God Lord and Ming Hao was merely deceit between Ming Hao’s avatars... First update, begging for guaranteed monthly votes, I must strive to push forward! (To be continued) RQ